Keep Running: A Football Lesson About Opportunity and Life

In a football match, there are 22 players on the field. All of them are trying to influence the game, shape its direction, and ultimately win. But at any given moment, the ball is with only one player. In fact, most of the time, the ball is not with anyone—it’s in transit, moving from one player to another, constantly shifting possession.

This simple observation reveals something profound about how opportunity works, not just in football, but in life.

No player spends most of the match with the ball. Even the star striker or the playmaker controls it only for brief moments. The rest of the time, they are running—finding space, tracking back, supporting teammates, anticipating the next move. Their value is not measured by how long they hold the ball, but by how consistently they stay involved in the flow of the game.

Imagine a player who stops running because he hasn’t received the ball for a few minutes. He slows down, becomes passive, and disconnects from the play. What happens next is predictable. The team adjusts around him. The coach notices. Eventually, he is substituted—not because he lacked talent, but because he stopped participating.

Life operates in a similar way.

Opportunities, success, and recognition are like the football. They rarely stay in one place. They move through people, industries, networks, and moments. Sometimes they are with you. Most of the time, they are not. Often, they are simply in transit.

The crucial question is not, “Do I have the ball right now?”  

The real question is, “Am I still running?”

People who stay engaged—learning, working, building relationships, improving their skills—are like players constantly moving into position. They may not control the ball at every moment, but they are always part of the play. When the right pass comes, they are ready.

On the other hand, those who stop participating because they don’t see immediate results slowly become irrelevant to the system. The world doesn’t pause and wait. It reroutes. Someone else steps into the space. Another person takes the shot.

In football, the coach doesn’t substitute the player who hasn’t touched the ball. He substitutes the one who stopped running.

In life, the substitution is quieter but just as real.  

A promotion goes to someone else.  

A business idea is executed by another person.  

An opportunity lands in a different set of hands.

The flow continues, with or without you.

The lesson is simple but powerful: participation matters more than possession. Possession is temporary. Participation is continuous. If you keep running, you remain part of the game. And more often than not, the ball eventually finds the players who never stopped moving.

Life, like football, rewards those who stay in motion until the final whistle.